The Triangle

Issue date: 6/6/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy Ira Gerstman Dan Bell, a former Resident Adviser in Myers Hall, encouraged his residents to participate in a triathlon. All seven of the Drexel students finished in the top 60 percent and two of the students, Trevor Nederlof and Kristen

Generally speaking, resident advisers or "RAs" are known at Drexel for giving students advice and acting as a liaison between the student affairs administration and the student body. However, one RA wanted to make an impact on his students in a different way - one that would require strength, will, determination and six months of dedication to successfully complete.

Pre-junior Dan Bell was an RA for the Business Learning Community in Myers and competed in almost all the intramural sports at Drexel. He was always a competitive athlete, being a pitcher for 14 years, but when he began his co-op at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), he talked to co-workers who competed in the "ultimate sport;" that's when Bell took his competitive drive to a new level and decided to train for a triathlon.

Some of his residents at the time saw pictures of him on Facebook running races and told Bell they wanted to get in shape. Bell knew if his residents were willing enough to prepare for a triathlon, then he would take on the responsibility of helping them with their training regimen. He had been offering training advice for endurance and strength since he was a freshman and would get satisfaction if they could successfully finish the event.

"It's always better to train with a group of people," Bell said. "I get so much satisfaction seeing people achieve the goal that they set. For me, the race is very competitive, but there is so much more with races, including a strong support group. Everyone meets people and makes friends."

Trevor Nederlof, a member of the sailing team, had no interest in preparing for the triathlon and was much heavier when he first got to Drexel. He lost a lot of weight because he was working out to get in shape for sailing, but he was not good at swimming, running or biking, the three components that make up the triathlon.

But he and his friends started doing "Body by Bell," a training program named after the Myers RA. After partaking in that program for a few weeks, Bell convinced Nederlof to train for a triathlon.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools